I would say this past Sunday afternoon was a pretty good day. I was sitting on my patio grilling 24 marinated, bacon wrapped doves. My bird feeders were fairly well occupied. A few black-capped chickadees, a couple of female cardinals, and two very fat squirrels helped themselves to the offering of sunflower seeds that I had placed on the fence and in the feeders that morning. I’ll admit, I have seen the backyard more active with critters, but the ones that were there were fun to watch.

True, I could have been in a bow stand, but the temps were slightly above average, and the albopictus (mosquitoes) were pretty aggressive too. You can always make excuses for not going to the woods, but the main deterrent for me was what I had seen the past weekend while working at the deer camp.

I saw more cottonmouth moccasins last weekend than I have seen in years. I’m not saying that I’m scared of them, but with several more months of season ahead of us, I think I can find days ahead with weather just a little more suitable for hunting and tracking game. I did see a couple of monster bucks come across my e-mail this past week. Many of you probably saw them too. The presence of these serpents sure didn’t deter those lucky hunters from going. At least these hunters came back unscathed.

There is an old Jim Stafford song called ‘Black Water Hattie.’ There is a line that says “snakes hang thick from the cypress trees like sausage on a smokehouse wall.” That is exactly how it was in the swamps the other day. It seemed that every ditch, water hole, and beaver dam held at least one of the pit vipers. It got to the point where any limb that even had the slightest curve to it was presumed to be one of these slippery reptiles.

I have been to many seminars where snakes and their discussion were one of the main attractions. I will agree that snakes have a biological purpose in the woods and fields. I do know that they prey upon rats and mice which destroy tons of farmer’s grain each year. I just wish these snakes didn’t have those two little hypodermic fangs that make me hurt myself when I run from them.

Our deer camp has some of the best looking habitats for squirrels that you have ever seen. Acorns are produced in abundance almost every year. Only one problem though. We have very few squirrels on our property. I have no proven data, but I really think that we have so many cottonmouths that they catch a high percentage of the squirrels. Many times we find these snakes coiled at the base of the oak trees.

I really believe that many squirrels are struck as they come down the base of the tree to the ground. Many hunters return from an October jaunt and state that they saw more cottonmouths than squirrels. All I can say is “come on frost.”

I remember my dad not taking me squirrel hunting until we had at least one killing frost. He said he wanted the snakes in before he took me. I’m not so sure he didn’t want at least one weekend to himself before having to put up with me stomping around in the woods. It sure seems to take longer to get that frost with today’s weather and climate. Many times we don’t get a frost until the middle of November.

Heck, a kid might not ever get to go squirrel hunting if we have to wait on that frost.

One September day, many years ago, my dad, Charles Warwick, his son Jon, and myself were walking down an old Port Gibson woods road looking for deer signs. I can still remember this monster cottonmouth coming off a bank into the road with his/her head up snapping in the air. Mr. Charlie reached back and picked me up to save me from the venomous reptile.

As he high-stepped away from the snake, (Anna Bee would have been proud) my dad intervened with a model 12 Winchester. I can still remember that moccasin biting the ground after two rounds from that shotgun. “Experts” have told me that the snake was trying to get away from us and we were in his path. All I can say is that he could have gone the other way and I promise we would not have chased him.

In all seriousness, snakes are still out. Be careful in your outside activities. Most people are bitten while trying to dispatch a snake. If you see one, don’t chase it, all that will do is put you too close to the business end of it. We are probably more prone to danger from bees and wasps than we are snakes. That may not be what you want to believe, but probably true. With that said though, I am still waiting on the next cold front before I climb a tree. Until next time enjoy our woods and waters, and remember, let’s leave it better than we found it.